The embodiments described herein relate generally to image processing, and more particularly, to compressing image data from a computed tomography (CT) imaging system.
Some known computed tomography (CT) imaging systems, especially luggage scanning CT imaging systems, generate large volumes of image data during normal operation (upwards of 1 GB of storage per piece of luggage). Typically, the image information content captured for an imaged bag remains relatively low because the scanned luggage and related objects are generally simple in shape and form and the field of view is typically much larger than the objects being scanned. However, luggage is continuously captured in an airport security line, for example, conventional imaging systems generate substantial quantities of uncompressed image data that requires a high bandwidth transmission line to facilitate adequate data transfer within the imaging system. As a result, the components of these conventional imaging systems must be configured to handle, to transfer, and to store these large amounts of captured image data. For example, data transmission components, such as data buses, must be configured with a high bandwidth to manage the volume of image data (upwards of 1 GB per second).